Apparatus ob machinery employed in the manufacture of carbonate of



2 Sheets -Sheet 1.

Patented July 11; 1837.

Phum-Limognphen Washmgmn. D4 C.

2 Shets-8heet c. RiPLEY.

Making White -Lad-.

' Patented July H, 1837:

UNITED STATES CHARLES RIPLEY, OF SAUGERTIE S, NEW YORK.

APPARATUS on MACHINERY EMPLOYED I THE MANUFACTURE or GARBONA'IE or LEAD01a WHITE LEAD.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 264, dated July 11, 1837.

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, CHARLES RIPLEY, of Sangerties, in the county ofUlster and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Apparatus or Machinery Employed in the Manufacturing ofWhite Lead or Carbonate of Lead; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full and exact description thereof.

In describing my improved apparatus, and the manner of using the same, Imust, necessarily, describe many thingsthat are not new, as the generalprinciple upon which I proceed, and the general construction of theapparatus by means of which this principle is carried into usefuloperation, have been long known and employed; I do this, however, forthe purpose of giving a more distinct view of the improvements therein,which have been made by me.

The general principle upon which I proceed, is to produce white, orcarbonate of, lead, by exposing blue, or metallic, lead, in suitableapartments, or chambers, to the action of the vapor of vinegar, .oracetic acid, to carbonic acid, and to oxygen gas,-at such a temperature,produced by steam, as shall best promote the chemical reaction of theseagents, so as to produce the substance in question.

I construct what are denominated cor-, roding apartments, or chambers,of any suitable material, but usually of wood; they may vary in form, orsize, but they are most convenient when made rectangular; and thosewhich I have preferred'are about thirteen feetlong, four and a half feetwide, and

nine feet in height; these corroding chambers I arrange'in rows, side byside, in such a manner, and in such number, as I find most convenientfor the operations to be carried on. In the accompanying drawing, Figure1, is a top view, showing'twelve corroding chambers, placed in two rows;showing also the arrangement of the pipes, or tubes, and theirappendages, by which steam, and the other. agents required, are admittedinto the chambers. These chambers are marked A,

A, A, and from some ofthem A, A, A, the tops are supposed to be removedfor the purpose of showing the manner of forming the steam tube, bymeans of which the requisite temperature is attained. B, 'B, is the mainsteam pipe, from which the pipes the two rows of cisterns, and is at itsmiddle,

C, connected with a pipe proceeding from any suitable steam boiler, andwhich in my apparatus is 5 inches in diameter. The main steam tube, B,is situated about a foot below the level of the bottoms of the corrodingT chambera'admitting of a convenient connec tion of the lateral pipes tobe presentlydescribed. v

.The vinegar to be evaporated is poured into troughs resting on thebottoms of each of the chambers; in the chambers A, A, A, is representedthe trough, D, and the metallic steam pipe E, E, within it, whichproceeds from the main pipe B, enters theend of the trough D, at theoutside of the corroding chamber, is recurved at, or near, the back endof the trough, and passes out again through a second opening at the endby which it en tered. The tubes E, may be made of copper,

tin, or other metal upon which acetic acid does not readily act; thoseused by me are one inch in diameter; they are secured firmly to thefront ends of the vinegar troughs, so as to prevent the escape of thatfluid, and are notdisturbed by any degree of expansion, or contraction,towhich the recurved tubes may be subjected, as these move freely withinthe troughs. The recurved tubes may be taken out of the troughs for thepurpose stopper being provided to close the opening;

this is shown at F, F.

The entrance ofsteam into each chamber is regulated by means of stopCocks G, G, a throttle valve, or other analogous contrivance, situatedbetween the main horizontal steam pipe and the point where the lateralpipe entersthe vinegar trough. Thatend of each of the lateral pipeswhich passes out from the vinegar trough, is left open for the purposeof discharging the condensed steam, I

or water, contained therein, but it is necessary so to construct suchopen'end as in some degree to obstruct this discharge. I generallyeffect this by diminishing the aperture, so that it shall be about 1- ofan inch in diameter, only. An efiect similar to that of diminishing theaperture may be produced by a system of stop cocks, one to the outer endof each tube, but these would be more complex and troublesome, and wouldnot, in practice, answer a better purpose than the plan which I haveindicated of lessening the bore. The ends are bent'downward, todischarge the water produced by condensation into a proper trough, orreceptacle.

To give the requisite supply of carbonic acid, and of oxygen gas, Iemploy a second system of tubes, from which there are suitable openingsleading into the respective corroding chambers. These tubes, orconduits, may be variously constructed, and may be made of metalentirely, or in part of metal, and in part of wood. I usually obtain thecarbonic acid from the draft pipe, or fiue, of the steam boiler furnace,when anthracite is used as fuel; and where this is not the case, it maybe obtained from a stove in which anthracite, coke, charcoal, or anyother fuel is burned which will produce carbonic acid unmixed withsmoke; or, in fine, from any other source supplying this agent in aneconomical way. The oxygen gas is furnished by'the air of theatmosphere, which is allowed to intermingle with the carbonic acid,either in the stove in which the combustion is effected, or,subsequently, in the blowing apparatus, or conduit pipes, through whichthe gases are conveyed into the corroding chambers. The modes ofefl'ecting this are so numerous and so obvious as not to require anydescription, and are practically well known; the quantity of oxygenrequired is, in fact, but small, that furnished by the decomposition ofthe acetic acid being nearly suffioient for the purpose intended. Any ofthe well-known kinds of blowing apparatus may be used for receiving andblowing the gases into the chambers, through tubes adapted to thatpurpose. In my apparatus, the gas is conducted into two gas trunks, madeof wood, and running along the fronts of the corroding chambers,immediately under the projecting ends of the vinegar troughs; they aremarked H, H, in the drawing; the tubes which supply them being situatedat I, I. A vertical tube, or trunk, J, J, J, rises from the main gastrunk, in front of each of the chambers; these are bored completelythrough, and the upper end of the bore is rimmed out conically, and hasa double, conical plug fitted into it, one end I of which plug descendsbelow a tube leading from the trunk into the chamber, and thus closesthe communication, while the other end descends no lower than the top ofthis tube, thereby enabling the workman to open, or close, thecommunication, by simply inverting the plug. This arrangement is shownin Fig. 2, where a is a section of the main gas trunkb,v the verticaltrunkc, the tube leading into the chamber d; and e, the double conicalplug.

In the corroding chambers heretofore made, a space has been leftopposite to a man-hole, or door, at which the workman entered to arrangethe metallic lead, or to inspect the process ;but by my improvementspection, and removal thereof may be performed with the utmost facility.The manner of charging the chambers is the same with that heretoforepursued; the sheets being either bent into coils and placed uponshelves, or ledges; or suspended by means of slats, or otherwise. In thedoor, or shutter, above described, I make an opening, or openings, withstoppers fitting therein, which may be removed when it is desired toexamine the progress of the corrosion, without opening the door, orshutter.

Having thus fully described the construction of the apparatus employedby me in manufacturing white-lead, and pointed out the use of therespective parts thereof, I hereby declare, as already intimated in thecommencement of this specification, that I do not claim as my inventionthe introduction of the vapors of vinegar carbonic acid, and oxygen,into corroding chambers containing metallic lead; nor do I claim theevaporating of the acid, or the production and maintenance of therequisite temperature by meansof steam; this process having been known,and described in public works, upward of twenty years since, but owingto a defective construction of the apparatus, or from other causes, notcontinued in successful operation. Nor do I claim the generalconstruction of the apparatus herein described, for effecting theconversion of metallic, into white lead, but only that particularconstruction and arrangement of certain parts thereof, by means of whichthe process is not only facilitated, but is also rendered much moreeffective than heretofore.

What I do claim, therefore, is-

l. The main, horizontal steam pipe, running between, or in front of, therows of corroding chambers of sufficient capacity to supply the whole ofthe lateral tubes connected therewith, and running into the respectivechambers.

2. I claim the use of distinct lateral steam tubes, passing into thevinegar troughs, at their outer ends, and extending along them nearly totheir inner ends, where they are recurved, and return back so as to passout again at the same end at which they entered; together with themanner in which the ad mission of steam into them, and the discharge ofsteam, or waste water, from them, is regulated, and governed, for thepurposes set forth,

3. I claim the particular arrangement of the gas, and vertical trunks,and the manner described of governing the admission of the gases throughthem into the respective corroding chambers.

4. I claim the constructing of a door, or shutter, at the back of thecorroding chamher, in the manner, and for the purposes, herein fullymade known. And I do-hereby further declare that I do not intend to confine, or limit, myself to-the precise construction, or arrangement, ofthe respective things herein claimed, but tovary these as I may thinkproper, while the effects produced, and the means adopted, are substan-CHARLES RIPLEY. Witnesses:

THOS P. JoNEs,

CLEMENT F. FOOTE.

